Julian M. Bassett

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, not every town has one person you can point to and say, that man put this place on the map. Crosbyton, Texas just might be the exception.

The marker tells the story of Julian Marcus Bassett, born December 4th, 1873, a native of New York. Back in 1882, young Julian came west with his parents, trading whatever the Northeast had to offer for the wide open promise of Texas. He grew into a rancher and a businessman, and he helped establish the C.

B. Livestock Company. Now here's where it gets interesting.

To promote the company's land sales in the area, Bassett had the townsite of Crosbyton platted in 1907. He didn't just sell land, he put a town down on paper first. Then, as if laying out a townsite wasn't enough, he organized construction of the Crosbyton South Plains Rail Line.

A railroad. And that railroad helped the town become the county seat in 1911. Think about what that means: one man, one rail line, and a county seat rises up out of the South Plains.

There's one more thing the marker notes, and it's a quiet one. This very site, the ground beneath the marker, was donated by Bassett himself for use as a public cemetery. Julian Marcus Bassett passed on December 29th, 1947.

He'd helped build a town, run a rail line to it, and in the end, gave a piece of the earth back to the people who called that town home.

What the marker says

(Dec. 4, 1873 - Dec. 29, 1947) New York native Julian Marcus Bassett migrated to Texas with his parents in 1882. A rancher and businessman, he helped establish the C. B. Livestock Company. In order to promote company land sales in the area, Bassett had the townsite of Crosbyton platted in 1907. He later organized construction of the Crosbyton South Plains Rail Line which helped the town become the county seat in 1911. This site was donated by Bassett for use as a public cemetery. Recorded - 1980.